Kosovo: A Short History: Amazon.de: Noel Malcolm, University Pres New York: Englische Bücher

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Kosovo, a 55-mile-long plateau in southern Serbia bordering Albania and Macedonia, should by all rights be a historical and political backwater. A Bulgarian geographer who visited Kosovo during World War I remarked that it was "almost as unknown and inaccessible as a stretch of land in Central Africa." The observation would prove ironically fitting by the '90s, as Central Africa and Kosovo both became sites of widespread genocide, fueled by ethnic hatreds, of the deepest international significance. Noel Malcolm, a British historian and journalist who has written extensively about the Balkans (including a companion volume of sorts on Bosnia), provides an overview of Kosovo's long-standing cultural divisions in his "short history" (although, at more than 500 pages, a not so short book).

Readers following the unfolding war in Kosovo through newspaper and television coverage may well ask why ethnic Albanians and Serbs are struggling so violently to command the small region. Kosovo, Malcolm explains, is the birthplace of Serbian nationalism; the defeat of Serbian forces there in 1389 by Turkish troops became emblematic of the fall of the Serbian empire, as it led to Turkish domination of the Balkans. Contemporary warriors of Serbia are, in Malcolm's eyes, evidently attempting to reverse the course of history by reclaiming the land from its Turkish conquerors--but in the absence of the Turks, they'll take it from the Albanians (the largest ethnic group among Kosovo's inhabitants) whose ancestors converted to Islam when the Turks ruled the region. Malcolm's lucid text shows again and again that the ethnic conflict in Kosovo is less a battle over bloodlines and religion than it is one over differing conceptions of national origins and history. "When ordinary Serbs learn to think more rationally and humanely about Kosovo, and more critically about some of their national myths," he concludes, "all the people of Kosovo and Serbia will benefit--not least the Serbs themselves." --Gregory McNamee -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

From Kirkus Reviews

A timely and penetrating history of the Balkans' next crisis zonethe Serbian province of Kosovo. With its 90 percent ethnic Albanian population dominated by Serbs with a nasty record of human-rights abuses, Kosovo is a nightmare waiting to happen. Throughout the 20th century it has presented an intractable problem to Yugoslav leaders, both royalist and communist. Malcolm, a seasoned British journalist in the Balkans and the author of a much-acclaimed work on the region (Bosnia: A Short History, 1994), demonstrates a similar appreciation for the urgency and significance of both the present turmoil and the complicated past of the region. He manages to be both concise and comprehensive. The book begins with geographic and ethnographic background and follows historical developments chronologically from the medieval period to the present. Malcolm's prose is lively and engaging, his scholarship well documented, and he seems unafraid of offending the warring camps, displaying a strong, healthy skepticism bred of many years spent in the Balkans. He identifies several major factors in the shaping of Kosovo's past and present situation. The Serbian Orthodox Church's use of religious rhetoric to defend ``sacred'' Serbian interests (the official Serbian Patriarchate and several historic churches) is, he asserts, ``a classic example of religion being mobilized and manipulated for ideological purposes.'' He also objects to the Serbs' claims of political hegemony based ``on the geography of long-gone kingdoms or empires.'' He blames the politicization of Albanian-Orthodox relations since the 19th century for turning divisions into outright hostility, drawing a parallel to the key role of politicians in creating the Bosnian crisis. Significantly, Malcolm openly challenges both the legality of Kosovos incorporation into the Serbian state as well as a historiography of Kosovo that has misrepresented parts of the regions history due to national and ideological biases. Both scholars and general readers will appreciate Malcolm's vigorous and trenchant analysis of the region's troubled past and present. This is destined to become a standard work on the subject. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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4 von 4 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich

Very good starting point 31. M�rz 2000

Von Patrick J Kinne

Format:Taschenbuch

This book (especialy the introduction and last few chapters) is an extremely helpful introduction to the Kosovo problem. Malcolm does an almost perfect job of prooving how tenuous the Serb claims to Kosovo are (which obviously is why it has been looked upon with such disdain by Serbs), but seldom seems to be attacking them as a people. But, obviously the truth hurts (as seen by all of the negative reviews below) and many have written this book of as anti-Serb propaganda. He is not biased, it is just extremely hard not to paint the Serbs as the bad guys in either recent war...

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Balanced Picture of Kosovo 2. M�rz 2000

Von "eliott"

As a student of history, I have found most of the recent works on Kosovo to be far too one-sided (almost ALL demonize the Serbs and glorify the Albanians). This work attempts to walk the middle ground and, does so very well. Making few judgement calls, the reader is left to make their own decisions on right and wrong, good and bad. While I abhor the recent actions of some Serbians, I equally abhor the actions being taken by the Kosovar Albanians. A reading of this book puts into perspective however what is now occuring and, gives a glimpse of what to expect in the future. I only wish our government officials had been required to read this book before putting one foot into that icky mess we have now labeled KFOR. At least they would have had a better idea of what to expect once the NATO bombing had stopped.

Be Careful -- This May Be More Than You Want 27. Februar 2000

Von S. Robertson

An overview of centuries of ethnic and dynastic controversy. No Balkan history can be a page-turner but this one is quite readable. It is, however, a work of history, not of politics or political science or current events. Those wanting to learn a lot of history about an obscure part of the world will be satisfied; those wanting simply a background to understand current events will be mystified.

Twisted , but interesting history

Noel Malcolm tries to cover the history of Kosovo in a relatively small book. To a large extent he succeeds in this task for at least the casual reader. Lesen Sie weiter...

Am 19. Juli 2000 ver�ffentlicht

Really History

I just want to say that this book is a really Kosova's history, and I think that all people that want to know about Kosova must read this book. Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 1. Juli 2000 von Artan

Must read

Like many of us, I do not know enough about the history of Kosovo or the Balkan region. I found Mr. Malcolm's book to be both thorough and insightful. Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 31. Mai 2000 von Jose Espinoza

Ja,Ja,D Bezt Zhouting Militantz Zloganz Tekztbook!

This is essentialy a book with limited scope,goals and methodics.Icould hardly imagine any reason to call it anything but an example of "what are we doing there"... Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 3. April 2000 von reader,thinker,writter

EXPIRED 24.03.1999 20h 17min CET

Because facts about recent events,collected and interpreted by dosens of monograph authors (Noam Chomsky as the most eloquent one amoung them),have established Truth with the... Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 3. April 2000 von Bomb Riding Cowboy

Kosovo: A Short-of-Veritas History

A nice attempt at didactic-I hope that it will be followed with few "Histories" of Kurdistan,Northern Ireland,Basqia,Krajina and few other places that people would... Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 28. Februar 2000 von Michael Agiophilipulos

THE FIRST VICTIM OF WAR IS TRUTH!

This is indeed a masterpeace in the art called satanisation of the serbs.The historical facts in brief are as follows:During the byzantine era albanians ocupied only central... Lesen Sie weiter...

Am 14. Februar 2000 ver�ffentlicht

Important book about important subject - and no shortcuts..

The history of Kosovo is very complex. Other writers on Kosovo are quite biased which often makes their work less valuable. Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 13. Februar 2000 von Sigrid Alvestad

Long time since I got pleased from a book.

Thanks to this writing, the world now will understand how difficult has been for the Albanian people to live in peace in the Balkans. Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 3. Februar 2000 von art eglenton

The only recomended book for the region

Noel Malcolm has written the first greatest book of history since the Peloponnesian War of Thucydides. Lesen Sie weiter...

Ver�ffentlicht am 27. Januar 2000 von art eglenton

Kosovo: A Short History [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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